Palestine

The Green Party convention this past weekend offered a win for everyone. Sort of.

The convention was held to clarify the Greens' position vis-à-vis economic pressure on Israel for its human rights abuses. Green leader Elizabeth May was so opposed to an August resolution condemning Israel's human rights abuses that she had threatened to resign. Influential party activists sought to preserve their August win while maintaining party unity.

More than 50 cultural and political figures released the following open letter today, calling for the Green Party of Canada not to reverse its party policy established at convention in August, where it overwhelmingly voted to support the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement in opposition to Israel's occupation of Palestine.

Last month, The Vancouver Sunprinted a remarkable apology to Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Canada. The Sun editorial board had published a piece in August claiming that IJV -- a Jewish organization -- had denied the Holocaust and encouraged terrorism against Israelis. The only problem was, they were dead wrong.

The Atlantic Jewish Council (AJC) took over Halifax Pride's Annual General Meeting the evening of October 5, packing it with over 200 people, an action that one Palestinian activist likened to "an occupation."

Halifax Pride is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer (LGBTQ+) association whose main activity is organizing that city's Pride Week every July. The AJC is the mainstream body that claims to represent Halifax's 1,500 Jews.

Media coverage of world affairs mostly focuses on Ottawa's and Washington's perspectives. While the dominant media is blatant in its subservience to Canadian and Western power, even independent media is often afraid to challenge the foreign policy status quo.

A recent Canadaland podcast simultaneously highlighted anti-Palestinian media bias and the fear liberal journalists face in discussing one of the foremost social justice issues of our time. The media watchdog's discussion of the Green Party's recent resolutions supporting Palestinian rights started strong with Canadaland publisher Jesse Brown laying out three claims:

On September 14, the Women's Boat to Gaza set sail from Barcelona on the way to Gaza to draw attention to the Palestinian struggle. Two boats, the Zaytouna and Amal, will carry the all-female crews to Ajaccio, and then to Gaza, drawing international attention to the resistance of the women of Gaza in particular.

We, the undersigned, Jewish Canadians, are writing in support of Nadia Shoufani, a teacher in the Peel Catholic School Board who has recently been suspended pending an investigation by the Ontario College of Teachers.

Ms. Shoufani's suspension was instigated by complaints from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), B'nai Brith, and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center regarding Ms. Shoufani's active voice in support of Palestinian rights.